A PSNI officer was justified in telling a delivery driver's boss he had been convicted of drink driving, a watchdog has ruled.

The officer went to the man’s place of work the day after the court case to inform his manager of the outcome.

The delivery driver had been arrested while driving in Co Derry last August. He was later convicted, lost his licence and resigned from his employment.

He later lodged a complaint with the Police Ombudsman’s Office that there was no need for police to have informed his employer about the conviction as he had resigned from his job the previous day.

He said the police decision to visit his former employees had only served to cause further distress, particularly as a relative, who worked for the same employers, had overhead the officer discussing the case.

The officer said he had been unaware that the man had resigned the previous day.

He said he had been advised by the public prosecutor that he should advise the man’s employers about the conviction. He then checked the PSNI’s Roads Policing Unit whether he had the right to do so.

The query was subsequently referred to the police Data Protection Officer, who advised that the information could lawfully be shared with the employer on the grounds of public safety – given the nature of the goods the man had been employed to deliver.

The officer added that the information had only been divulged in a private office at the man’s workplace, and only to a manager and a member of security staff. Enquiries with the employers confirmed this to have been the case.

The Police Ombudsman investigator found the officer had followed police guidance and procedures, and had acted in compliance with the Data Protection Act.